For years, Pete Davidson has been one of the world’s most famous, funny men. That, and the Saturday Night Live comedian has made headlines for being one of the A-List’s most in-demand boyfriends. Because honestly, who hasn’t he dated? Remember his extremely high-profile romance with Ariana Grande… Kate Beckinsale? Magaret Qualley? Phoebe Dynevor? Emily Ratajkowski? Kaia Gerber? Or, perhaps most famously, his nine-month relationship with the most famous woman in the world, Kim Kardashian?

And, we’ve got to be honest, we get it – who wouldn’t want to be with an extremely funny, confident man?

But, speaking in a new interview, Pete has claimed he’s been ‘fooling’ the world with his extrovert persona for years. ‘If you guys think I have confidence, I have been fooling everyone,’ he said. He added to People magazine that he finds interviews with the press tricky, adding: ‘It’s so difficult to say anything in print and not be afraid to come across the wrong way.’

The 31-year-old then opened up on the heartbreaking reason why. ‘But I had a really shitty childhood and like the worst thing that ever could have happened to me, happened to me when I was seven,’ he said. It was in 2001 that Pete’s dad, Scott Davidson, a New York City firefighter, tragically lost his life during the 9/11 terrorist attack. Since, Pete says his mentality has been: ‘”F**k it. Like who the — cares?” You know? And like, F**k everyone.’

This carefree attitude carries through his relationships, as in the chat, he revealed that he only holds his family, and a couple of his mates, close to him. ‘At the end of the day, it’s like your family matters and your two or three friends that you have matter,’ he continued. ‘Everybody else can go f**k themselves.’

And, sharing his advice to young men, Pete thinks everyone should spend less time on their phones. (Honestly, who can disagree with that?) ‘As far as young dudes, I’m having a tough time in today’s society and I can’t imagine growing up with a device, a phone or a computer that just makes you miserable all day and tricks you into thinking you have to go on it all day,’ he said, adding that he thinks the online world provides ‘a lot of anxiety’.

He continued: ‘I just think social media and the internet in general is the devil — and I just think there’s going to be new studies in the next five, 10, 20 years of how it ruined, you know, the future of humans.’

And in terms of his star-studded love life, there’s now an important update: Pete has a new girlfriend. The comedian has been dating Elsie Hewitt since at least March, with the pair first being spotted in Palm Beach. Just like Pete, the 29-year-old has also had a few famous partners – including Benny Blanco and Jason Sudeikis. Pete and Elsie are definitely not keeping their relationship a secret, as they’ve been snapped together courtside at a basketball match, in matching leather jackets – and the pair posted some very loved-up photos on Instagram when they attended rockstar Dave Navarro’s wedding in Scotland.

A source told Page Six that Pete is over the moon about the new relationship, and that Elise is a ‘non-celebrity’, ‘different from anybody else he’s dated before’. (Though perhaps calling her a non-celeb is a bit harsh, considering she has 1million followers on Instagram.) ‘Although things are new for Pete, he really likes this woman,’ the source added, also saying that Pete’s family – including his mum and sister – approve of the relationship and that they ‘love seeing Pete so happy’.

But it’s not just his new girlfriend who has been creating headlines. When the paparazzi pictures of the couple at the beach dropped, a few people were quick to spot that Pete still has some tattoos on his bare torso.

Earlier this year, Pete basically broke the internet when he starred in a campaign for Reformation – very cleverly called The Perfect Boyfriend – without a tattoo in sight. (In hindsight, some of the tattoos might have been covered up – either by Photoshop or with make-up.) People reported that Pete dropped a whopping $200,000 to start lasering off the tatts in 2020, with a source telling the publication: ‘He just woke up one day and wanted them gone.’

In his own words, Pete – who is now sober – told Variety why he used to feel the need to visit the tattoo shop. ‘I used to be a drug addict and I was a sad person, and I felt ugly and that I needed to be covered up,’ Pete, who had over 200 tattoos, admitted. ‘So I’m just removing them and starting fresh, because that’s what I think works best for me and for my brain.’

Here’s to fresh starts.